NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Saturday Playbook

LeBron James has a chance to return from a two-week injury absence, and Damian Lillard is out for the Bucks. That leaves Giannis Antetokounmpo as the clear cash spend-up, while Luka is more of a GPP pivot. We might get a crazy low ownership number for Luka on a four-game slate.  

Trae is playing great basketball and has scored 50+ fantasy points in five of his last six games. He has attempted at least 17 shots in each of those contests and posted at least 12 assists in half of them. 

Giddey missed just over a week with an ankle injury, but he returned this week against the Suns. He played 30 minutes and continued to stuff the stat sheet, as he went for 22-7-7. He is now off the injury report completely and Tre Jones is out. Giddey posted more than 50 fantasy points in eight of nine games prior to the injury. 

McBride is questionable on the injury report, but he should continue to start for the injured Jalen Brunson if he is able to play. He gets an elite matchup against a tanking Wizards team that ranks 28th in DRtg and 4th in pace. 

Rollins started last game for the injured Damian Lillard and played 29 minutes. Lillard is out again, which means Rollins is one of the best values on the slate. 

White has averaged 28.4 points per game this month, and he went for 35 points last game despite Josh Giddey returning to the lineup. He has settled into his role as the top usage guy for this Bulls team post trade deadline. 

Jalen Brunson remains out with injury and the Knicks get an elite matchup against the Wizards. Bridges has been consistently solid in the absence of Brunson, but he has just one ceiling performance. I prefer Anunoby if choosing between Knicks wings, but Bridges is in a great spot as well. 

Podz played 34 minutes last game, so he appears to be past the back injury that has cost him five games this month. He was disappointing from a fantasy perspective despite Steph Curry exiting the game with an injury in the 3rd quarter. With Curry ruled out for this game, Podz should have a huge role in a great matchup with the up-tempo Hawks. 

Moody has been terrible his last two games, shooting a putrid 2-of-14 from the field. Despite the poor shooting performance recently, it is hard not to like this spot for Moody. Steph Curry is out and the Warriors get a matchup with the Hawks, who rank 2nd in pace in the league. 

Gary Trent stepped up with Damian Lillard out last game, shooting 6-of-10 from three-point range and scoring 23 points. The floor is incredibly low if the shots aren't falling, but the Kings have allowed the 3rd-most three-pointers made this season and Lillard is out again. 

Jimmy Buckets is in an elite spot with Steph Curry out for this pace-up matchup against the Hawks. Butler has seen a bump of 3.8% usage and 6.1% in assist rate with Steph off the floor this season. He is one of the top plays of the entire slate. 

Hart has been disappointing in great matchups the last two games, but he gets another elite spot tonight. Jalen Brunson remains out and the Knicks get an elite matchup against the tanking Wizards. 

This is a tough matchup for DeRozan, but Domantas Sabonis is out again and Zach LaVine has just an 18.2% usage rate over his last five games. DeRozan leads the Kings with a 25.9% usage rate since the De'Aaron Fox trade. 

Anunoby has been the biggest beneficiary of the Jalen Brunson injury, as he has scored 40+ fantasy points in four of his last six games. He gets an elite matchup against the Wizards and has tremendous ceiling at his mid-range price tag. 

Giannis has averaged 1.73 fantasy points per minute with Damian Lillard off the floor this season. He is the top spend-up on the slate and has an enormous ceiling in this matchup with the Kings. 

LeBron has a chance to return from his groin injury tonight. Keep an eye out for any update on playing time restrictions if he is cleared to play, but the field might be hesitant to trust LeBron in his first game back. 

Draymond continues to be in excellent form and is playing with great consistency. Steph Curry is out for this up-tempo matchup with the Hawks. 

Kuzma has seen a team-leading 5.4% usage bump with Damian Lillard off the floor. He has also enjoyed boosts of 3.0% to his rebounding rate and 6.2% to his assist rate in the absence of Lillard. The price tag looks great for Kuzma given his increased role. 

He is likely still limited to mid-20s minutes, but Kuminga has posted a usage rate above 30% with Steph Curry off the floor this season. Kuminga is attractively priced if he plays around 25 minutes again, and he would be significantly under-priced if he sees any more than that. 

Lyles has seen his role grow in the last two games with Domantas Sabonis out. He is coming off back-to-back 30+ fantasy point performances and is still near minimum price on DK. It is a tougher price on FD, but I still have GPP interest given the upside we have seen from Lyles.  

The upside has disappeared for KAT in recent games despite the absence of Jalen Brunson, as Towns has topped 50 fantasy points just once in the last 30 days. He does get an elite matchup against the Wizards. 

Vucevic is coming off a 24-12-8 smash line last game against the Kings, as he played 32 minutes for the first time in a month. Vuc gets a tougher matchup tonight if LeBron (questionable) is able to return for the Lakers, but there is plenty of upside if he sees 30+ minutes again. 

Damian Lillard is out for the Bucks, and Domantas Sabonis is out for the Kings. Both of those injuries should be beneficial for Lopez, who has seen a 3.2% usage bump with Lillard off the floor this season. 

Vukcevic has been given an extended look for the tanking Wizards, as he has played over 20 minutes in four straight games. He has averaged 1.32 fantasy points per minute this season, so the minutes are all we need to see. 

Post is a value option on this small slate, as he has shown solid per-minute production this season. He has been playing around 20 minutes per game for the Warriors and should be locked in for that role with Curry out.